S.P. will use money it owed to build water facility

Due to a judge's decision, Santa Paula will save about $8 million in fines that come from years of noncompliance with regulations set by a state water regulatory agency.

Ventura County Superior Court Judge David W. Long this week OK'd a consent judgment and final order that allow the city to use the money it would have paid in fines for the construction of its water recycling facility. The facility should be constructed by September 2010.

Officials from the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board and Santa Paula have negotiated for about two years on fines the city has to pay.

The fines stem from a 1997 water-board permit that requires Santa Paula not to exceed specified limits in effluent that ends up in the Santa Clara River.

The permit sets various limits on components in wastewater, including chlorine and E. coli.

Santa Paula's current water recycling plant does not have the technology to meet effluent limits, and the city accrued more than $8.6 million in fines for exceeding those limits. The city had about 2,900 violations from January 2000 to March 2007.

The fine is still about $8.6 million, board officials said. However, because of the agreement in the judgement, about $8.2 million of it can be directed toward construction of the plant instead of paying the state, officials said.

The new plant's technology is expected to meet requirements set by the board.

"This is a really good agreement, and it's a win-win for all of us," water board chairwoman Fran Diamond said Friday. "We want quality, the public wants water quality and Santa Paula wants water quality."

Santa Paula still must pay $350,000 in penalties and about $77,000 for the state's attorney fees and staff costs, water board officials said.